Ephesus & Heiropolis – by Mike

As we pulled into the carpark that led to the ancient city of Ephesus we had to run the gauntlet of the obligatory souvenir shops but this is the 1st time I’ve seen one so honest in his adverstising.

By now we were becoming experts at ruins and were quite easily able to see the effect that different cultures had on the structures, for eg: when you saw terracotta clay sewerage pipes & arches you knew the Romans had been there.

And we were able to tell the difference between a Corinthian & an Ionian column.

It appears at many of these sites they find the bits & pieces lying around or after excavation but no-one is going to drive across the country & pay $30 to see some scattered rubble. So the clever little blighters piece back together a few of the larger bits and recreate (restore) a little more until they have a few facades or columns to give the essence of what might have been.

OK Trivia question: Can anyone tell me the name of this goddess below. Clue: Her name is a famous global brand today. If you said Adidas you were close but no cigar…..meet Nike!

I believe one should try everything the world has to offer but when trying to take a dump in a 2,000 year old dunny there was just no privacy.

Until this point the ruins at other sites we had visited had been quite modest but at Ephesus not only are there quite a few partial buildings but the entire layout of the city is almost visible complete with streets, shops & theatres.

This used to be the world’s 2nd largest library during the time of Cleopatra

Part of most tours was the stop off to the carpet/ceramics/leather factories and this one was no exception. We knew it was sgoing to be a little upmarket when they shepherded us into a room with a catwalk. It was air-conditioned and they gave us tea so we watched the models prancing up & down wearing the leather clobber. At the end of the show they grabbed Deb & another guy and made them model some gear….some things are priceless.

Heiropolis was the next stop and as the ruins there were not nearly as impressive as Ephesus we decided to spend the next 2 hours frolicking about in the limestone pools that dot the mountain top.

It appears that this entire side of the mountain is made fom limestone and over the years the erosion has formed this amazing landscape down the side forming pools of water that are said to have special healing properties. Unfortunately when I came out and dried myself I was still an old man…however, my wife had become even more beautiful & youthful so it sort of worked.